Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 - FACTS, FIGURES, AND ACTION POINTS

Mental Health
Awareness
Week
2020
FACTS, FIGURES, AND ACTION POINTS

Mental Health Facts
                         1 in 5 adults in America experience mental
                          illness.

                         Approximately 10.2 million adults have co-
                          occurring mental health and addiction
                          disorders.

                         Nearly 60% of adults with mental illness
                          didn’t receive mental health services in the
                          previous year.

                         African American and Hispanic Americans
                          used mental health services at about 1/2
                          the rate of whites in the past year and
                          Asian Americans at about 1/3 the rate.

Barriers to Mental Health Care
   Stigma
       Public Stigma: reaction that the general public has to people with mental illness
            Examples: Withholding help, social avoidance

       Self-Stigma: prejudice which people with mental illness turn against themselves
            Examples: low self-esteem, poor self-efficacy

   Understanding
       Lack of awareness of symptoms caused by mental health conditions and the benefits that could be provided
        through treatment

   Access
       Limited providers, long wait times for appointments, high cost and insufficient insurance coverage
            One in four (25%) Americans reported having to choose between getting mental health treatment and paying for daily
             necessities.

Mental Health and the Pandemic
   Isolation and economic challenges brought on by the pandemic can present additional
    barriers to obtaining treatment, and may even lead to worsened mental illness
    symptoms, creating additional challenges in managing thoughts of self-harm and
    suicide.

   COVID 19 has highlighted racial inequality in the US, particularly regarding health
    disparities and access to resources, which has heightened racial trauma for people of
    color.

   Presence of a mental health and/or substance use disorder crisis layered on top of the
    existing health and economic crises creates potential for the burgeoning a second
    health crisis.

   It is perhaps more important now than ever to seek social, community,
    and professional support for mental illness and to identify healthy
    coping strategies for the additional stressors the pandemic has posed
    to mental wellness!

Coping Techniques
   Connect with other individuals.
   Educate yourself about mental illness.
     www.NAMI.org

   Take care of your body and your physical and emotional health.
     Call
         your healthcare provider or reach out to Dickinson’s Wellness
      Center to schedule a consultation.
   Take time to unwind in activities that you enjoy.
   Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories.
   Turn energy from fear, sadness, and anxiety into individual action and
    political activism!

Take Action Now!
◦PARTNER WITH MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA (MHA) IN A LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN
TO SUPPORT FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO INCREASE FUNDING AND ACCESS TO
MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION RESOURCES.

◦ CLICK ON EACH OF THE LINKS BELOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS
REQUESTING THEIR SUPPORT OF THESE CRITICAL ISSUES:
    ◦   988 Suicide Lifeline bill
          ◦   https://act.mhanational.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=8
              31
    ◦   Second Crisis 4th COVID19 Package
          ◦   https://act.mhanational.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=835

References

    Center for Disease Control. (2020, July). Coping with Stress. National Center for
     Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral Diseases.
     https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-
     anxiety.html

    Corrigan, P. W., & Watson, A. C. (2002). Understanding the impact of stigma on
     people with mental illness. World psychiatry : official journal of the World
     Psychiatric Association (WPA), 1(1), 16–20.
    Mental Health America. (2020). Take Action Now.
     https://mhanational.org/issues/action-alerts

    National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2019). Mental Health Facts in America.
     https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-
     Media/Infographics/GeneralMHFacts.pdf